Appeal after man found dead near blazing motorbike

A 24-year-old has been arrested in connection with assault as part of the investigation.

19th Jan 2021

A man has been found dead near a motorcycle that was on fire in Midlothian.

At around 9.20am on Sunday, January 17, police received a report of an off-road motorcycle alight on land off Hadfast Road near the village of Cousland.

Emergency services discovered a man’s body on a woodland path west of the village.

Work is ongoing to formally identify the man, whose death is being treated as unexplained and officers are appealing for witnesses to come forward.

A 24-year-old man has been arrested in connection with an assault as part of the investigation into the death.

A report has been submitted to the Procurator Fiscal and he is due to appear in court.

Detective chief inspector Bryan Burns said: “We are carrying out extensive enquiries in order to establish exactly what has happened prior to the man being found dead during the morning of Sunday, January 17.

“He was found on a path in woodland to the west of the village of Cousland where it runs under the A68 road, which we know is regularly used by locals.

“We are appealing to anyone who may have seen a fire or heard any activity in the area overnight or in the early hours of Sunday to get in touch.

“We would also be keen to speak to anyone who may have been driving in the area around Cousland or on the A68 who may have seen the fire or who may have dashcam footage.”

If you have any information you can call Police Scotland on 101, quoting incident 0931 of January 17.